Identity Diffusion
by Skye
Summary: Reggie decides to surprise Cleo on one of her visits, only to be surprised herself. Reggie/Cleo


**Identity Diffusion**

"Pretty and refined. Just the kind of girl Cleo liked." Today, Reggie spent some extra time at the mirror. Usually she just quickly made sure she was presentable before leaving, but today she wanted to make sure to take her time, and pay attention to detail.

She combed her hair over and over, until there was no sign of any sort of tangle and it shined. Reggie was pleased to note that even dry and wavy, it had now grown long past her shoulders. For the past couple of months, she had been growing out, wearing it in a ponytail to keep up with her athletic lifestyle. It would make sense to cut it, but Cleo'd prefer it to be long. Not that she wanted Cleo to know she was doing it for her, no, she was just growing up, like Cleo said she always would.

Then there was the next thing... Reggie reached into the back of the drawer in the bathroom, where she'd hidden the makeup she'd bought from her brother's prying eyes. The last time she'd seen Cleo, the other girl had taught Reggie how to put it on. Reggie carefully applied foundation, then the various other products she'd picked out. Once that was done Reggie held up the two outfits she'd been considering. The yellow flowered shorts and top? No, Reggie ended up deciding on the simple pink sundress.

Once she pulled it over her head and looked at herself, Reggie blinked in surprised. She could hardly recognize herself. But just the same, she looked... pretty. Yes, that was a good way to describe it. Pretty and refined. Just the kind of girl Cleo liked.

Exiting the bathroom, Reggie checked to make sure no one was around before she quickly ran into her room and shut the door. No reason for her to have to answer any stupid questions, right? She spent the next hour in a state of being both excited and anxious, checking her e-mail, reading a magazine, and other inane things as she checked the time every other minute. "She should be here by now!" Reggie complained aloud to herself. Five more minutes past before the familiar ring tone sounded. Reggie quickly picked up the phone. "Uh, hello?"

"Reggie, darling! I'm nearly there, I've just had to take a taxi over," Cleo answered.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that. Someone could have given you a ride," Reggie said, secretly happy that she didn't have to ask for a ride. Her newly issued provisional licence didn't allow her to drive with minors yet, and it would be so embarrassing to talk to Cleo with her dad or Noelani in the front seat.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to bother your family or mine. I'll be right there. You'll still up for having me stay over, yes?"

"Of course!" Reggie insisted.

"That's wonderful. I know it would be no trouble for me to stay with my aunt and uncle, but you know, Cousin Lars has become even more unbearable to be around lately."

"Yeah, I hear that," Reggie agreed.

"And although it's nice to see my family, you know, I've really come to see you," Cleo added.

"Um..." Reggie paused, blushing. "Oh, yeah! It's nice to see you, too."

"Not yet. But I'm almost there. I can see your cul-de-sac, and I'll be there in moments!"

"Oh, I can't wait! See you!" Reggie shouted before she quickly hung up her phone and ran to the front door. She saw the taxi, and some boy taking out Cleo's luggage. What was the boy doing there? "Cleo?" Reggie called.

"Yes, I'm quite sure I don't need your help." Reggie heard Cleo's voice. She look around, and then saw when the guy turned around, that it was Cleo. "Reggie!" she said happily. Reggie stared. Cleo has cut her long hair to only a few inches, and wore an old looking t-shirt and some pants. It was so unlike her. Yet, Reggie liked it. She was still Cleo, and looked very pretty, even looking so... masculine.

Cleo was still as dainty as ever, rolling her bags up to the front step. Reggie wasn't sure what to say as she stared at Cleo, but luckily the other girl kept talking. "Aren't you looking, well, absolutely gorgeous!" she exclaimed. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, nothing," Reggie said hesitantly. Of course, it was nothing. She wasn't dressing up to impress a girl who obviously just threw herself together in a few seconds and didn't think that seeing her after months apart was an occasion to celebrate, nope. She didn't really need to impress anyone, really.

Reggie helped Cleo bring her bags inside. "So, what should we do first? Street hockey? Skateboarding? Some of that rugby you told me about?"

Reggie shook her head. Was this the same girl? It was well-established that girls can play rugby, but Cleo would be the kind of girl that might have someone thinking otherwise. "Um... I thought you might want to do something more, um..." Reggie paused, thinking of a way to phrase it. "Well, aren't you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it, I am a little famished from my travels. And you know, it has been a while since I've visited the Shore Shack."

"The shack?" Reggie repeated. She thought for sure that Cleo would want to visit a much classier place. She was looking forward to it herself, being a place where her dad and brother weren't likely to be around.

"Oh, of course! I know everyone will be there. It will be so much fun to catch up."

"Right..." Reggie said softly. This wasn't turning out like she planned at all, but she should do what Cleo wanted. She'd been the one to travel all this way, after all. Even if what she wanted to do was hang out at the busy, crowded, sometimes smelly, and not at all romantic Shore Shack.

"Let's go! If I recall, it's just a quick walk downhill, isn't it? Shall we skateboard down?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

Reggie was cross when they started to skate down, but then feeling the breeze in her face, and looking at Cleo next to her, she began to smile, then laugh. Cleo laughed along with her. She'd been looking forward to this forever. And even if Cleo was going to act a little less Cleo-like, she'd still make the best of it.

Before long Reggie and Cleo reached the shack. Reggie bit her lip as she same Otto and company at a table.

"Hey! Cleo's here!" Otto shouted. Reggie and Cleo shouted hello before going to order. Reggie smiled. Otto had a bit of an grudge against Cleo before, and it was good to see he was all over it. This could be alright, maybe. But she realized she had spoken too soon.

"Reggie finally got her hair cut," another guest commented. Oh no, Reggie thought. She was well aware that she and Cleo looked a little similar from a distance, but people weren't going to mix them up now, were they?

"Yeah, it's about time!" Otto shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "Cleo looks really different, did you notice?"

"Yeah..." Twister said.

Reggie wanted to run away, but Cleo tugged her arm to go towards the boys. "Hello Maurice, Otto, Sam. It's been a while," she said.

Otto stared, wide-eyed. "Oh, weak! Is Halloween early this year?"

"Yeah, Cleo. Why aren't you pretty anymore?"

"Oh, Maurice. Still as blunt as ever, I see," Cleo commented, mostly ignoring the question.

"And Reggie, what's up with you? You look so weird!" Otto said.

"It might be genetic," Cleo joked. Sam laughed, Twister looked confused, and Otto sulked.

But Reggie finally snapped. She couldn't help being related to Otto any more than Cleo could help being related to Lars. She grabbed Cleo's wrist to drag her into the back. "Reggie?" Cleo said tentatively.

"Alright, what's with you?" Reggie demanded crossly.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Basically what Twister asked. The look, the attitude, it's almost like an alien replaced you."

"You mean, you don't think I'm pretty anymore?" Cleo asked.

"No..." Reggie said quickly, trying to calm down. "It's just your hair, your outfit. It's so not you. What happened?"

"Well, I did get tired of managing my hair, so I just cut it off," Cleo explained. Reggie could related. Her hair wasn't nearly as long as Cleo's, but still took a lot of time to not look like a mess. "I do regret it somewhat, but it will grow back. As for my attire, well, I did expect to be roughing it up a lot this weekend. After all, that's what you do, isn't it?"

"Um... I do, well, I-" Reggie wasn't sure how to respond at first. "What about what you like to do? You didn't expect to do anything, um, cultured? Ocean Shores has culture too, you know."

Cleo shrugged. "But it's my weekend with you. I didn't think you'd want to do anything like that.

"Okay, listen up," Reggie said, getting closer to Cleo. "I am a girl. I might be a little bit of a tomboy, but I still like girly things. And most of all, I like you. I can show you how to play Rugby, and you can take me to a ballet or whatever. It doesn't have to be either/or. It's just nice, being together."

"I agree," Cleo said, smiling again. She hooked onto Reggie's arm. "Now that that's settled, shall we go have dinner?"

"Yeah, sure," Reggie said as they went back into the main room.

"I'll take you to a place much nicer than this tomorrow," Cleo said.

"That'll be great," Reggie said happily.

"I am glad I won't have to parade around as a crude tomboy all weekend. The fact I was willing to do it just proves my love for you. Don't you agree?"

"Riiiight," Reggie sighed. Normally it would start an argument, but for now Reggie was just happy to have the regular Cleo back.


End file.
